A filmmaker who developed his cinematography skills at the University of Lincoln has premiered his latest short film at the prestigious Edinburgh International Film Festival.

Media Production graduate Dave Smith was shortlisted in the Best UK Short category for his film, In The Meadow, which he wrote and directed. It meant he was able to enjoy the red carpet treatment in the Scottish capital – and rub shoulders with film legends like Sean Connery.

Dave, who graduated from Lincoln in 2002, works in the Nottingham area. In the Meadow was his third funded film and was produced by Nicola Clayton.

The psychological chiller tells the story of a married man and his younger mistress who head into the countryside for an illicit birthday party. As the afternoon progresses, events take a sinister turn.

The film, which stars Chris Larkin (Valkyrie, Master and Commander) and Tuppence Middleton (Skeletons), was co-financed by the UK Film Council and EM Media, the screen agency for the East Midlands.

Dave said: "It was a real honour to premiere In the Meadow at Edinburgh. I was delighted to even be selected given the high number of entries to the festival."The festival itself was a really exciting experience - it was the first time I'd seen the film projected in full High Definition and the public screening was completely sold out. It's so important that your film can find its way to an audience."Walking down the red carpet for the opening gala just behind Sean Connery made me so proud to be a part of it all. The atmosphere around the various venues and the city itself was superb."

Dave added: "I really felt like I made contacts who will be able to help my career progress to the next level. Hopefully I'll be back at the festival with a feature length film before too long."

Edinburgh is Britain's most important and prestigious international film festival and is recognised throughout the world as a champion for emerging talent. Past premieres at Edinburgh include cinema classics like Dr Zhivago, Taxi Driver, Blade Runner, Pulp Fiction and recent Oscar revelation, The Hurt Locker.

Marcella Forster, Senior Lecturer in Media Production at the University of Lincoln's School of Media, tutored Dave during his studies.

She said: "Edinburgh is the most desirable place to premiere in the UK. This year the festival had more than 1,400 short fiction film submissions, so Dave did incredibly well to get In the Meadow selected. It's wonderful to see talent from the Lincoln School of Media rewarded in this way."Dave showed In the Meadow to third-year BA Media Production students earlier this year when he gave a guest lecture on his film career since graduating from Media Production. Students were eager to quiz him on the beautiful cinematography and how he'd secured stars such as Tuppence Middleton and Chris Larkin."